Vdot Cuts Closings For Span Repairs

Complaints Spark Change In Norris Bridge Plans

The Norris Bridge, which links Middlesex and Lancaster counties, will not be closed to traffic for long periods during repairs. VDOT officials presented a new, improved plan to a local advisory committee Wednesday night.

"We all walked out of there with a much better feeling last night," Middlesex Supervisor Lenora "Lee" Weber, a member of the advisory committee, said Thursday.

Several months ago, VDOT shocked county officials, business people, medical workers and state legislators with a plan to close the bridge from 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. 300 times over the next six years.

VDOT officials held public hearings in both counties during which they listened to hours of criticism. Transportation Commissioner Ray D. Pethtel apologized numerous times for the way the matter had been handled.

Wednesday night, Pethtel and other VDOT officials presented a revised plan that met with the approval of the advisory committee:

* The bridge may be closed for two hours between midnight and 5 a.m., Monday through Thursday.

* The contractor can close the bridge a maximum of 90 nights.

* The contractor has to give two weeks' notice of when closure will begin, to allow for notifying the public.

* Once the contractor decides which two hours he will close the bridge, the times can't be changed. Those will be the hours for the entire 90 nights.

* Closures and "periodic stoppages" will not be allowed during holiday periods.

* If the contractor has an emergency, "consideration will be given" to a closure longer than two hours, but never past 5 a.m.

* The contractor must maintain one lane of traffic except during those two-hour closures. Stoppages of 10 to 15 minutes may be allowed, but not between 5-8 a.m. or 4-7 p.m.

* A phone must be manned at all times to notify the contractor if someone must cross the bridge in an emergency. If that happens, the contractor "shall expeditiously move to reopen" the bridge within 15 minutes.

* VDOT will pay the contractor "an incentive" of $6,000 per night for each night fewer than 90 nights of closure. On the other hand, VDOT "will assess a disincentive" of $6,000 for each night over 90 - in addition to other damages.

VDOT was able to change the plan, said Fredericksburg District administrator James Browder, because the department and a consultant came up with a design for a ramp that can be moved with a crane as needed. Traffic will pass along the ramp, about 15 inches above the bridge decking that needs to be replaced.

"We think it is a constructable alternative," Browder said Thursday.

The deadline for bids is Oct. 13. Browder said he hopes work on Phases 1 and 2 can begin soon after Jan. 1. Projected completion is July 1995.

Browder said while the conditions for keeping the bridge open during repairs are now being imposed only on Phases 1 and 2, "I can use this same criteria for Phases 3, 4 and 5. If there are some adjustments or improvements we can make . . . we might try to tighten the specifications up for the next three phases" to reduce traffic disruption even more.

The original estimate for Phases 1 and 2 was $9 million. Requiring the contractor to keep the bridge open most of the time may increase the cost 5 percent to 10 percent, Browder said.

He said if the contractor fails to abide by the terms of the contract, there could be "a considerable" financial penalty.

The new plan is "still going to create delays, but not like they originally told us," said Weber, the Middlesex supervisor on the advisory committee. The consensus among advisory board members, she said, "is that we need this one repaired to make it as safe as possible, but down the road we're going to need a new bridge."

James M. Holmes Jr., executive vice president of Rappahannock General Hospital in Kilmarnock, said "it's going to be an uphill battle to get a new bridge . . . obviously we need to start now." Holmes also serves on the advisory committee.

About 15 percent of the hospital's admissions come from the Middlesex side of the bridge, he said, and 70 people - or 20 percent - of those who work at the hospital commute across the bridge. Much of the public outcry at the original closure plan had to do with access to the hospital. The next-nearest crossing is 35 miles away.

"One-lane traffic will certainly be an inconvenience," Holmes said, but he commended VDOT for putting in a lot of time to address the many complaints. "What they've come up with is probably the best solution," Holmes said.